sairakanzaki: Ace would defintiely make sure they were strong before going to the New world, though there's only so strong you can get in a short amount of time!
Wishfull-star: Thank you!
When they landed on the island, this time it was Saber to stay behind. They headed through the forest and could sense a lot of presences around. But they were animals. Sabo commented that it was interesting that animals and humans felt different. "Focus on the little ones, too. You can tell they're bugs." Then he stopped. "Alright! Training test time! I want all of you to hunt at least two animals using haki. Observation and armament. You have two hours, then come back to the ship with some proof of the animals you defeated. Maybe fur, teeth, anything. Ready, go!" They all hurried off, and Ace headed back to the ship to stay with Saber, who couldn't use haki.
He stayed on the ship and waited for the two hours. Almost on the dot, Sabo came first, carrying a patch of black fur and a tooth from a lion. Ace high fived him, and asked what he'd used. "Haki on my pipe. It appeared just long enough to attack two of them." Ace congratulated him. Then Ban, Deuce, Bree and Mihar made it.
They each had proof, but Mihar only had one. He had been allowed to use weapons, as long as they used both haki some time during the hunt. He had used observation haki to hunt and shoot. An animal bit down on his arm by accident when he was reloading, and he was able to form haki there long enough to keep his arm safe.
Ace was proud of all of them, impressed. Saber felt a bit lonely, but he understood it would take awhile to unlock haki. But he knew it wouldn't take years, necessarily, since all of the others awakened it only months after starting training. The shipwright had faith that Ace was a good teacher. It made the captain very happy.
They sailed the ship to the town and docked in the harbor. There were many pirate ships there, but the PoS was the largest. And probably the best made, being made of Adam's Wood and all. Ace was glad it could never be stolen. They had two aquatic devil fruit users and a sky one. Even if Bree didn't use it for fighting, he'd definitely use it if necessary.
Ban opted to stay aboard, not really wanting to go on the island right now. She didn't say it, but Ace knew it was from being tired after the hunt. She'd gone after the big ones, and it really drained her energy. Ace said nothing of it, and agreed. They furled the sails and dropped anchor. Ace decided to stay on the ship again, and let his crew explore the island on their own. He went off to his own places by himself, they should get that privilege as well.
He was lounging on the top of the cabin when he sensed and heard people coming near the ship. "Oi! 'Terror of the Sea'! We're here to take your head!" Ace chuckled and stood up.
"You're very confident it seems. Too bad it's so misplaced," he mocked. He got down and crouched on the railing. "That your ship?" Ace asked, gesturing to the ship across from them. They said, proudly, that that was right. "It looks pretty fragile."
They grew angry and said someone like him couldn't destroy their ship. "We're taking you down regardless!" The cannons on their ship aimed at the PoS. Ace was ready to catch it and redirect it. Not at their ship, as he didn't want to ruin the ones around it when they'd done nothing to him. Plus, he could feel somebody else inside, seemingly stuck in one place. Maybe a prisoner or something.
Ace called that they could try, but it wouldn't work. "Why? You're not in the ocean right now!" Ace said that was true. For them to give him their best shot. So, the cannon was fired at him, and he grabbed it in one arm and had it slide along the other and into the ocean. They started the fight, Ace was going to end it.
He dropped down and punched them so hard they coughed blood before he threw them out far into the ocean. He knew sea kings were around. Small and relatively weak, but they stood no chance. He got every other pirate on that crew, decimating it completely. Everyone else was staying on the ships while he worked out.
Once he was done, not smelling them anymore, as they reeked of a sour drink that he'd never smelled before, he waltzed into their ship, looking around and collecting their small amount of treasure. He looked in the room where the only one left was. He saw it was a big, round guy with thick sideburns and an arm with a broken gun attached.
He was big and round, but didn't look healthy. He walked over and broke the cuff chaining him to the wall. "Oi, dude," Ace said, shaking him. He jerked awake, looking at Ace in confusion. He asked who he was. "Just a passerby. You a prisoner on this ship?" Of course he was. "Why? What did you do?" Ace asked, helping him up. They went to the kitchen, Ace able to smell the food.
The man ate so much food that Ace had to stop him lest he throw it all back up. "I'm a doctor and they didn't like my treatment, so they kidnapped me. My gun arm was already broken, so I didn't stand much of a chance." Ace lit up at the news that the guy was a doctor and he saved him. But, he wasn't very strong. At least, not with this broken gun.
"That sucks. Well, they're all gone, so you're free now," Ace said casually.
"Wait, who are you?" he asked, his name was Aggie 68, a strange name to Ace. Ace gave his name, Ace. Just Ace. "How can I repay you?" Ace "hmmm"ed.
He said, "Well, I already have a lot of money. Are you strong?"
Mihar had not been physically strong either, but his shooting skills were incredible. This guy had a machine gun arm. It wasn't too impressive, he'd seen people with those before. Aggie 68 said he felt he wasn't the strongest person, he was more of a skilled doctor than a strong man. Ace liked his honesty. "You're a good doctor?"
"Yes, I graduated top of class. I used to have a clinic, but sadly, the pirates burned it down," he explained, his face looking sad. Ace felt for him. Knowing his own home had suffered an unjust demise. Ace said he could understand it a bit.
He said, "Our ship, the first ship, was damaged beyond repair from marines and then a huge storm washed her away." He knew it wasn't totally the same, and he said that. "It's not like losing your life's work, but we lost our home and place of peace, too. But our new ship is sturdier."
Aggie 68 asked if he was a pirate. "Yup. The Spade crew. But I'm better known now as the 'Terror of the Sea'. Kind of dramatic, if you ask me." He used to think it was badass, but it was a bit overblown, to be honest. But, he was dangerous, so maybe it fit. He wasn't sure, he was biased now, wanting to move on from the person he was before.
The doctor looked at him warily. He asked if he'd killed before. Ace honestly said he had. Many people, pirates and marines. He'd never killed citizens, even if his old captain had wanted him to. He walked out, convinced that the doctor would not want to join, so he wouldn't ask. It would be idiotic and insesntive to save him from pirates but then ask for him to join their pirate crew.
Agile 68 left the ship, glaring at it one last time, before walking up the dock. "Oi!" Ace called. When the large man turned around, Ace tossed him a nice pouch of money. He smiled and the doctor looked confused before smiling back. Ace went back to lounging on the cabin's roof. But, surprisingly, Aggie came back before the others. They must all be having fun around town. He felt a little jealous, now.
"Hey!" he called, though Ace knew he was there already. He peeked his head over the side, sitting up. "I can't spend this money." He held up the pouch of money. Ace replied that it was the amount of money he'd gotten from the former pirate crew's ship. It wasn't his to begin with. Aggie 68 looked surprised.
The large doctor frowned, and looked down. "You got nowhere to go?" The man looked up at Ace's grin. "Wanna come along?" Ace asked. "You can check out our infirmary if you want. You'll be the main doctor."
He actually looked like he was considering it. And he nodded, surprising Ace further. He had expected the guy to refuse. He hated pirates, probably, from destroying his clinic and then kidnapping him. Ace put the gangway down, and he cautiously stepped foot on deck before Ace led him inside. He really trusted Ace wouldn't hurt him by following him into a confined space.
The infirmary was amazing. They'd used it a handful of times, but not for any serious wounds. There were three beds locked to the floor. They could be unlocked and rolled around, though. Then there were the bolted down, modern and expensive equipment. Even a separate room with an x-ray in it. Ace hadn't really thought about an infirmary when they chose it, but he was so happy they had it.
Aggie 68 was shocked. "This- this is amazing! How did you afford everything?" he asked, looking at all of the equipment. Ace laughed and said they got the ship for free, including the infirmary. "How?!" Ace explained their work in Water 7 and repairing the island after the huge wave that had washed away their previous ship.
"As repayment, they made us this ship, which was also made of Adam's Wood. The most durable wood in the world. It was a surprise, and we'd had the money for the ship, but not the wood used. But of course, having this all for free is pretty damn cool."
Aggie 68 was amazed by the story, but then looked confused. "Pirates helping rebuild a city? Why?"
Ace sat on one of the beds and said, "Well, we couldn't leave regardless without a ship, but we decided to help out. Don't know why. Maybe I felt pity for them. I was able to drag the broken buildings up from the seafloor for them to be able to reuse the stone. Once they ran out, I just pulled chunks off of the bottom of the sea. It was good exercise, and we ended up getting our shipwright to join."
The captain swung his legs and said, "I'm a completely different person on my own crew than on my old captain's crew. It's kind of nice helping people sometimes. I want to return to my home country and help fix it up, even if I was part of the crew that ruined it." Aggie 68 looked confused, but also surprised.
He had said something that made him look good, but also then said something that made him look bad. "I can blame some of my actions at Wano on brainwashing and ignorance, but not all of it. I was selfish and only thought of myself. So, I want to make amends and go do something good for them," he explained honestly.
The man asked about the brainwashing. "They fed me a devil fruit, and when it turned out to be really valuable, they saved me from starvation and poverty. That was when I was five. I barely remember my life before. I thought they cared about me, but they were planning on killing me soon. Before I left for good, that is. But, now the crew is in shambles. The captain and All-Stars are dead, all besides me, that is. And the remnants, all the weaker members, hold a grudge against me."
He sighed and said, "I never actually went into Wano. I patrolled the ocean around it and would go on long distance missions. But I knew it was bad, I just didn't really care since I never thought I should. After all, they weren't my problem. I wasn't suffering, so why should I help?"
Ace looked up and then said, "I feel like I'm different now. At least, I really hope I am. Now I have people to look after and protect, I can't just think of myself. I like to think I'm a 'good' pirate now. As in, not hurting regular people, even if it's just not doing damage to their homes. Pirates and marines are still game for me."
"Your not like any other pirate I've met. We used to have asshole pirates come to our clinic. When it was still around," he said. Ace grinned and asked if he wanted to join. When the man looked wary and confused, Ace said something different.
"You seem like a nice guy. And we're in no rush to get to the New World, the second half of the Grand Line, so we could go to your island and help rebuild your clinic. Pirates might just come back, though."
Aggie 68 was sitting on one of the bigger beds, and said, "I think that life is over. You really don't seem like a bad person. I'll join. But, if I hate it and hate all of you, will you take me back?"
Ace grinned. "Well, we won't take you back cause you won't want to. My crew is nice and funny. And strong. I'll teach you how to be strong other than your arm gun," Ace said. He put his hand out and shook the doctor's hand. "Welcome to the Spade pirate ship!" He led him to the separate rooms. All of them had bunks besides Ace's room. "We have four rooms, all of them already taken, so just choose which one you want. You'll have a roommate regardless," Ace explained.
Aggie 68 picked one of the rooms with more dressers. "So, we'll go in land tomorrow and get you some new clothes and shoes," Ace said simply. "And also get your gun hand fixed up." Then he grinned. "Do you want a devil fruit?" he asked suddenly. Aggie looked surprised at the question. "I have a lot to choose from if you want one."
He said that most of his crew had them now. They had two logias, a paramecia, a mythical zoan and two aquatic zoans. He was surprised by the mix, and then asked how he had so many. Ace told him the story of the mysterious devil fruit island. Aggie was fascinated with it. "So, you wanna try your luck?" Ace asked with a grin.
He also truthfully mentioned that his had been artificial. He was shocked, so Ace then explained the whole SMILE situation in full. He could honestly tell the big man was a good listener and paid close attention. "The New World sounds crazy," he said. Ace nodded.
"That's why I'm teaching those on my crew haki. Without haki, you're kind of screwed there. But, again, we're in no hurry. The end goal is nothing big. I don't want us to be a yonko crew. I made this crew for the experience, not the end goal, which is non-existent at this point." He asked again if Aggie 68 wanted to be a devil fruit user.
It was while he was deliberating which one that Sabo walked into the ship, finding Ace with somebody else still in the infirmary. "Yo! Sabo, this is Aggie 68, our new licensed doctor. Aggie, this is Sabo, my first mate and the navigator." Sabo was shocked. But he put his hand out with a welcoming smile.
"Welcome!" he said with a bow. Aggie 68 was confused by the formality. Ace said Sabo was the politest one on the crew. "Are you going to eat a devil fruit?" Sabo asked, sitting on the bed with Ace. Both were waiting now. But he declined, saying he wouldn't eat one right now. Ace said he always had the choice, and then put all of the fruits back away safely, away from anyone's access but his own.
The others came in at about the same time. It was dinner time. Ace introduced all of them to their new member. "We're fixing up his weapon tomorrow. We have a full doctor! Deuce, you can go to being our log guy. Since you like to write the experiences of sailing," Ace said lightly, not making fun of him at all. Deuce did like to write. Even if what they'd read of it, it wasn't so good.
But Ace would never crush one of his friend's dreams. Deuce visibly relaxed after hearing he wasn't the doctor anymore. Ace thumped him on the shoulder and grinned. "Bree, make us something delicious for our new crew member while Ban and Sabo help me get the PoS out to sea safely."
"Aye," they said. The three of them went out, Ace having Aggie follow and observe them moving the ship. Unfurling the sails and all. It didn't look hard, but you couldn't turn too fast or it might make things harder. Unless it's during a storm, they didn't usually jerk the wheel. The ship smoothly sailed from the island a bit. They furled the sails before dropping anchor.
"Looks easy, and it is easy, once you get used to it," Ace said cheerily. They had another member! Now the crew was at eight. He had no limit, but wanted to keep it small and personal. Nothing like the thousands of expendable members of the Beast Pirates. They went inside to eat, and Ace went to bed satisfied. Maybe he did turn into a better person. Someone like Aggie 68 had sympathized with him and chose to join a pirate after he was kidnapped and robbed by other pirates.
The next morning, Deuce stayed behind with Ban, both to practice haki, while the rest went into town to find a place to fix up Aggie's weapon. At first, Ace thought it was a prosthetic limb, but it wasn't. More like a gun-glove of a sorts. Fired different projectiles. It looked pretty crappy, to be honest, but he was more shocked the enemy pirates let him keep it, functioning or not.
Ace paid for a complete upgrade on the weapon, much nicer quality. After the newby protested, Ace told him he had no say and then the man didn't protest again. Ace hadn't said it rudely, but made it clear he'd be buying it regardless. So, the new version was very nice and well made, sturdy metal.
Regular ammo worked with it, so it would be easy to refill. They bought a lot of bullets for both Aggie and Mihar's weapons. Then they all went shopping, getting some things for the other two. Winter clothes since the last cold island they hadn't had anything and so they skipped it lest they freeze to death. Besides Sabo, of course.
After they went shopping, all of them but Ban went to stock up on supplies and food and water. It didn't take too long, since all of them knew what they were doing perfectly well. Saber and Aggie mostly observed what was bought in bulk the most, like rice and long lasting fruits like apples. They got a lot of water, and it seemed that the new two really hadn't known how damn heavy a barrel of water was.
Despite the multiple trips and loading process, they were stocked and ready to go fairly quickly. Then they were on their way, Aggie looked happy and excited, though not as openly as Saber had been. He still didn't seem off his high, and Ace was glad he was still happy and didn't regret it. Mihar spent a lot of time with Aggie since they both had projectile weapons, while Ace started to swim the ship.
Deuce swam next to him, which was nice. He was in crocodile form, large for an animal, but not big compared to Ace. But it was still nice having somebody's company while on their way. "When will we get to the New World, do you think?" the crocodile asked, voice rough and scratchy. Ace replied that he didn't want to anytime soon. He still wanted to have fun in Paradise. "Will we actually travel to every island?"
"I think that's impossible. But I'd like to go to as many as we can," Ace said with a smile in his voice. "More experience. We'll keep going on, maybe something will force us to go, who knows?" Deuce told him not to make him worry. "I won't worry, you. Don't worry."
Deuce shook his head and then went on Ace's head in non-zoan form, who lifted him up onto the PoS. Ace pulled them to the next island, where they passed by a huge hoard of flying fish, Ace hearing something below the water. He smiled, baring his teeth as a massive pod of dolphins passed by them, jumping out of the water in tall arcs. They paid no attention to Ace, passing right by him and after their food.
He heard his crew members shouting at the sight. It really was amazing. But then two humpback whales passed under them, Ace the only one to see it, feeling privileged. After the two passed, the ocean was calm and relaxing again. He sensed a cyclone coming, forming quickly, and turned the ship to the side, avoiding it.
Ace was so glad he could help his crew in this form. It wasn't useless, and he used it constantly. Unlike Deuce and Bree, who didn't really like their fruits. Well, Deuce could swim and Bree could fly, useful abilities if they ever wanted to really use them. Sabo and Saber's fruits were amazing. Saber especially. His fruit had never been discovered before.
He wondered what the world would think when new, seemingly undiscovered devil fruits popped up. Ace really wished he knew what the other fruits resting in his pouch were. He regretted not keeping them once they were used so they could record their appearances in a book that nobody else could.
Would people demand to know where he'd gotten those fruits? Well, even if somebody sliced him open, the pouch was pretty much indestructible from the outside. That had been proven by Kaido when he was slashed badly and it skimmed his pouch. It had not broken, even though the scales had.
They came across a few storms, but Ace pulled them through. The sails were furled since Ace was pulling them to the next island. Having a pattern was nice. Swim to one island, use the log pose for the next, and repeat. When they reached the next island, it had whirlpools around it, and they weren't constant, they just popped up.
And they caught the ship. Ace was sucked in, too, getting dizzier and dizzier until he closed his eyes and swam in the direction that island wasn't. He heard screaming from his crew members and got them out. He was so happy the ship was made of Adam's Wood, because if it hadn't been, it would have been damaged. He wondered if they even needed a shipwright with that wood. But, they did. So that thought left his mind almost immediately.
He got them a good distance from the island, and everyone was dizzy or with bruises from hitting the deck. But everybody was there and accounted for, thank goodness. Mihar was vomiting over the side of the ship. "I'm sorry I didn't see them sooner," Ace apologized sincerely, looking ashamed.
Sabo said, "Out of the last four months in the Grand Line, I think one mistake is acceptable." He had a reassuring smile, and the others nodded, even if they still looked sick. "Thank goodness the ship is sturdy." The others nodded in agreement. "So, what are we doing about the island?"
Aggie asked, "Are there whirlpools on every side?" Ace didn't know, but decided they would not approach the island again. The whirlpool just appeared right in front of him with no warning. He didn't want to risk it happening again. He added that the island seemed uninhabited, so they couldn't really stock up there.
They watched as a stupid sea king went towards them only to be sucked into a rapidly appearing whirlpool, and they could see it being spun around and around before it was thrown out, floating on its side, dead. "Yeah, we're definitely not going back to that island," Deuce said. Everyone again nodded in agreement.
So, Ace brought them to the next one, since they wouldn't be waiting long enough for the log pose to set. They came across a fleet of marine ships, but they didn't seem to be going after the Spades. Nobody could keep track of them with their island jumping, not following any course. Ace wanted to get some action in, so he told them to weigh anchor while he went and took care of them.
He swam at lighting speed, keeping his back out of the water, showing the scary spikes. He heard screams already, of weaker Paradise marines. The bounty he had, the largest in Paradise at the moment, rightly terrified people who'd never encountered someone over 600,000,000 berries. He was only a couple hundred million berries up, but still.
Cannon balls were shot, and he let them land on his back, exploding. Only he had haki covering it, not affected at all. He turned suddenly to the side and smashed into all of them from the side, plowing through all four in seconds. Soon, the ships were sinking, and he was swimming beneath the sinking and terrifying marines.
He popped his head out and roared loudly. Some passed out, only to sink to their deaths. Ace slapped the water hard with his tail and swam back to the ship, feeling energized and satisfied. His crew was cheering for him, and their journey resumed. Ace wasn't upset with not being on the ship with them. He liked helping the crew out by doing this. Loved not needing to follow the lop pose.
Honestly, Ace didn't really see him having anyone else on the ship with them. He had all the spots filled. Chef, doctor, navigator, shipwright, and many of them were good at fighting. And haki. But he still wanted Saber to be better with his devil fruit, and perhaps learn haki, and Aggie 68 to be able to defend himself without his gun.
So, after a day with a lot of swimming, he retired early, at sunset. He approached his newest two members, and said, "Training time. Haki is learned truly in emergencies. Going by everyone else, just knowing how to use it, even if you can't, can get you to develop it quicker, if you're lucky.
"But until then, I'll teach you both how to fight. Like how I taught the others besides Bree and Ban. Aggie, leave your gun out of this. Saber, I want you to use your fruit while you work. Kick with wind, punch with wind. But your training will be on the roof of the cabin. Aggie, I know your size might make it more difficult to fight, but your size can also be an advantage," Ace explained. The two nodded, and began their training. They weren't fit and able to continue long, but Ace pushed them hard until they were too exhausted to continue. "Neither of you are on watch, so get a lot of rest tonight. I won't go easy on you both," he warned. Then he smiled, telling them they did well for the first real physical training session.
The others had started a game of poker. Ace joined while Aggie and Saber started napping from the exhaustion, even if dinner was being made and would be ready soon. So, the day passed quickly. Ace enjoyed every day of his pirate life so far. And while he enjoyed Paradise, he couldny wait to get to the New World, but not until his crew was ready.
He felt Sabo, Deuce and Ban were ready, Ban perfectly able to cover her weapon in armament haki. The other two were good at their haki, Sabo especially good at observation haki. He was so proud of them. Like a parent or teacher proud of their kids.